Andrew Garfield on Spider-Man's sexuality: 'Why can't he be gay?'

Andrew Garfield has loved Spider-Man since he was a little kid. He can speak eloquently and at length about how open the Spider-verse is for interpretation. Recently, he says, he had a philosophical discussion with producer Matt Tolmach about Mary Jane or “MJ” to fans. “I was kind of joking, but kind of not joking about MJ,” he tells EW. “And I was like, ‘What if MJ is a dude?’ Why can’t we discover that Peter is exploring his sexuality? It’s hardly even groundbreaking!…So why can’t he be gay? Why can’t he be into boys?”

Garfield even has an actor in mind: “I’ve been obsessed with Michael B. Jordan since The Wire. He’s so charismatic and talented. It’d be even better—we’d have interracial bisexuality!” The star has clearly suggested a sexually flexible Spidey to his director, Marc Webb, as well. When EW later mentions the idea to Webb, the director says, “Michael B. Jordan, I know.” Oh, so he’s heard this too? “Uh, are you kidding?”

For more on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and all of EW‘s Comic-Con coverage, pick up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, on stands Friday July 11.